Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan Friday relinquished his claim to state-owned farmland allotted to him by the previous Mulayam Singh Yadav regime in Uttar Pradesh, even as the Mayawati government told the state high court that it was "amply evident" that forgery had been committed in the deal.

An affidavit was filed in the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on his behalf by Rajesh Yadav, whom the actor had given the power of attorney in the case, saying that he was relinquishing his claim to the land in Daulatpur village of Barabanki, about 40 km from here.

"The petitioner hereby declares that he has now abandoned his claim in respect of the land at Daulatpur village in Barabanki district since the Gram Sabha has agreed not to pursue the matter any further," the affidavit said.

It also prayed that the court pass an order that no proceedings, "either civil, revenue or criminal in nature" be initiated in future against the actor.

Earlier, the state government flatly rejected the offer of counsel of Daulatpur gram sabha (village council) that Bachchan could save himself of all criminal prosecution if he relinquished his claim over the land.

"Counsel for the gram sabha has no right to make such a declaration. After all, the land belongs to the state and it is amply evident from the official land records that forgery was committed to show Amitabh Bachchan as owner of this piece of land," Advocate General Devendra Upadhaya told the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court Friday.

About 2.5 bighas (70,000 sq feet) of state-owned agricultural land was transferred in Bachchan's name in Daulatpur village of Barabanki, about 40 km from here, essentially to give him the tag of a "farmer", without which he was unable to maintain his right over a 6-hectare farm in Pune district of Maharastra, where land revenue laws allow only "farmers" to own agricultural property.

Refuting gram sabha counsel R.N. Gupta's earlier announcement about absolving Bachchan of the charges of "fraudulent" allotment, Upadhaya said: "The state government wishes to pursue the case as the entire process of allotment was done in gross violation of rules and through forgery in land records."

The single judge bench of Justice A.N. Verma fixed Oct 24 for the next hearing in the case.

What seemed to surprise everybody was the sudden stand taken by the gram sabha counsel who had all along been critical of the manner in which the land allotment had been made in the name of the megastar.

Bachchan had earlier sent a letter to the chief minister offering to "surrender" the land to the state government.